Last updated 8/29/2023
The Top Songs of 1971, as charted by Billboard Magazine, will be presented each week during the season.
620 records appeared on the Hot 100 chart in 1971.
Songs that reached the Top 10 on another chart are marked with AC (Adult Contemporary/Easy Listening),
HC (Hot Country), and S (Soul).
Song 1
Peaked at #1 on 4/17/71 for 6 weeks.
Fifth of their eleven Top 10 hits, second of their three #1 records.
This is the mono single mix. Like many other Three Dog Night singles, the stereo mix is different.
#1 – “Joy To The World” by Three Dog Night
Song 2
Peaked at #1 on 10/2/71 for 5 weeks.
First of his three #1 and eleven Top 10 hits.
#2 – “Maggie May” by Rod Stewart
Song 3
Peaked at #1 on 6/19/71 for 5 weeks. AC #1.
First of her four Top 10 hits.
#3 – “It’s Too Late” by Carole King
Song 4
Peaked at #1 on 2/13/71 for 5 weeks. S #6.
First of their three Top 10 hits.
#4 – “One Bad Apple” by The Osmonds
Song 5
Peaked at #1 on 8/7/71 for 4 weeks. AC #4.
Their first #1 record. Wonder if they will have any more. (Spoiler alert: eight more.)
#5 – “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” by Bee Gees
Song 6
Peaked at #1 on 1/23/71 for 3 weeks. AC #2.
First of their three #1 hits, and the last Top 10 hit as Dawn, before Telma and Joyce became part of the group.
#6 – “Knock Three Times” by Dawn
Song 7
Peaked at #1 on 12/25/71 for 3 weeks. AC #5.
Last of her two Top 30 records.
This really should have been the #6 song of 1972, since two of its three peak weeks were in that year.
#7 – “Brand New Key” by Melanie
Song 8
Peaked at #1 on 9/11/71 for 3 weeks.
Second of his six solo Top 10 records (two others with Marie).
Peaked at #1 for Steve Lawrence in 1963.
#8 – “Go Away Little Girl” by Donny Osmond
Song 9
Peaked at #1 on 12/4/71 for 3 weeks. S #1.
After a two-year gap, this record wasn’t even the whole group. It was Sly, his sister Rose, Billy Preston on
electric piano, and Bobby Womack on guitar.
Third and final pop #1 record and final Top 10 pop hit.
#9 – “Family Affair” by Sly and the Family Stone
Song 10
Peaked at #1 on 11/6/71 for 2 weeks. AC #6.
First of her four #1 pop hits.
Yes, “gypsies” is spelled wrong. Jimi Hendrix also spelled it wrong. Must be a music-business thing.
#10 – “Gypsys, Tramps And Thieves” by Cher
Song 11
Peaked at #1 on 4/3/71 for 2 weeks. S #1.
Third of their four #1 pop hits.
#11 – “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” by The Temptations
Song 12
Peaked at #1 on 11/20/71 for 2 weeks. S #2.
His only other Top 20 pop record came in 1980.
This is the single edit, though the version I heard on the radio at the time edited out some more of the vocals.
Telma Hopkins of Dawn was one of the backup singers.
#12 – “Theme From Shaft” by Isaac Hayes
Song 13
Peaked at #1 on 3/20/71 for 2 weeks.
Her only Top 40 solo record.
#13 – “Me And Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin
Song 14
Peaked at #1 on 5/29/71 for 2 weeks.
Sixth of their eight #1 records (so far).
#14 – “Brown Sugar” by The Rolling Stones
Song 15
Peaked at #1 on 7/24/71 for 1 week.
This is really a Mark Lindsay solo record under the name Raiders. It was the group’s biggest hit.
Peaked at #20 for Don Fardon in 1968.
Fun fact: Arranger Artie Butler copied the ending organ riff from Janis Ian’s 1967 record “Society’s Child.”
Butler is the organist on both records.
#15 – “Indian Reservation (The Lament Of The Cherokee Reservation Indian)” by Raiders
Song 16
Peaked at #1 on 6/12/71 for 1 week. S #1.
Lead singer Edna Wright is the sister of Darlene Love.
#16 – “Want Ads” by The Honey Cone
Song 17
Peaked at #1 on 7/31/71 for 1 week. AC #1.
Written by Carole King. Her version and Taylor’s were recorded at the same time with shared musicians.
#17 – “You’ve Got A Friend” by James Taylor
Song 18
Peaked at #1 on 9/4/71 for 1 week. AC #9.
His first non-Beatles #1.
#18 – “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” by Paul and Linda McCartney
Song 19
Peaked at #2 on 4/10/71 for 3 weeks. S #1.
Yet another successful record that Berry Gordy didn’t want to release. Strange.
#19 – “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye
Song 20
Peaked at #2 on 5/8/71 for 3 weeks. S #1.
Peaked at #9 for Gloria Gaynor in 1975.
#20 – “Never Can Say Goodbye” by The Jackson 5
Song 21
Peaked at #2 on 8/14/71 for 2 weeks. S #1.
Her only Top 40 hit.
#21 – “Mr. Big Stuff” by Jean Knight
Song 22
Peaked at #2 on 10/16/71 for 2 weeks. AC #1.
Their fifth straight Top 3 record.
All of the Carpenters records here are the original stereo single versions, not the more common remixed versions with overdubs and new vocals.
#22 – “Superstar” by Carpenters
Song 23
Peaked at #2 on 6/19/71 for 2 weeks. AC #1.
Their fourth straight Top 3 record.
#23 – “Rainy Days And Mondays” by Carpenters
Song 24
Peaked at #2 on 9/11/71 for 2 weeks. S #1, AC #6.
Eleventh of her 16 Top 10 pop hits.
Peaked at #10 for Ben E. King in 1961.
#24 – “Spanish Harlem” by Aretha Franklin
Song 25
Peaked at #2 on 2/27/71 for 2 weeks. S #2.
Their first single to not reach #1. They never had another #1 pop hit.
#25 – “Mama’s Pearl” by The Jackson 5
Song 26
Peaked at #2 on 8/28/71 for 1 week. AC #3.
First of his seven Top 10 hits.
#26 – “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver
Song 27
Peaked at #2 on 3/20/71 for 1 week. AC #4.
Last of his five Top 10 records.
Written by Paul Anka.
#27 – “She’s A Lady” by Tom Jones
Song 28
Peaked at #2 on 5/1/71 for 1 week. AC #4.
Their only Top 40 hit.
Written by Gene MacLellan, who previously wrote Anne Murray’s “Snowbird.”
#28 – “Put Your Hand In The Hand” by Ocean
Song 29
Peaked at #3 on 10/16/71 for 3 weeks.
Second of their four Top 10 hits.
Another one written by Joe South (Song #33 below).
#29 – “Yo-Yo” by The Osmonds
Song 30
Peaked at #3 on 12/11/71 for 2 weeks. S #4.
First of their two Top 20 pop hits.
#30 – “Have You Seen Her” by The Chi-Lites
Song 31
Peaked at #3 on 7/3/71 for 2 weeks.
First of their two Top 3 hits.
#31 – “Treat Her Like A Lady” by Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
Song 32
Peaked at #3 on 3/13/71 for 2 weeks. AC #1.
Third of their twelve Top 10 hits.
The song’s two lyricists were members of the group Bread.
#32 – “For All We Know” by Carpenters
Song 33
Peaked at #3 on 2/13/71 for 2 weeks. HC #1, AC #5.
Written by Joe South. Her only Top 40 Pop hit.
1971 Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female.
#33 – “Rose Garden” by Lynn Anderson
Song 34
Peaked at #3 on 9/4/71 for 2 weeks. S #2.
Their only Top 40 hit.
#34 – “Smiling Faces Sometimes” by The Undisputed Truth
Song 35
Peaked at #3 on 9/18/71 for 2 weeks. AC #2, S #6.
First of his four Top 3 hits.
1972 Grammy winner for Best R+B Song.
#35 – “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers
Song 36
Peaked at #3 on 11/13/71 for 2 weeks. AC #7.
Second of his eight Top 10 hits, only five of which were released during his lifetime.
#36 – “Imagine” by John Lennon
Song 37
Peaked at #3 on 11/27/71 for 2 weeks. AC #1.
Fourth of their six Top 10 records.
#37 – “Baby I’m-A Want You” by Bread
Song 38
Peaked at #3 on 10/2/71 for 1 week. AC #1.
Her only Top 30 record. She reached #35 a few years later.
#38 – “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” by Joan Baez
Song 39
Peaked at #3 on 1/30/71 for 1 week.
The comeback begins with their first Top 10 record in two years. Wonder if it will last…
#39 – “Lonely Days” by Bee Gees
Song 40
Peaked at #3 on 8/28/71 for 1 week.
This is the common mono long version. The edited single version is rare.
#40 – “Signs” by Five Man Electrical Band
Unless otherwise indicated, all tracks are stereo 320 kbps mp3 files.
Most were converted from CD-quality FLAC files (16 bits/44.1 KHz). Some tracks were converted to mp3 from higher-resolution digital files.
The source reference for this list is “Joel Whitburn’s Pop Annual 1955-1999.” Joel originated the tracking of Billboard chart data in 1970, so he’s known as the expert in the field. Joel passed away in 2022.
The structure of the annual charts is simple: records are rated on the highest position reached on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the number of weeks spent at that position. Ties are broken by the number of weeks spent in the Top 10, Top 40, and Top 100.
If a record charted in more than one year, all of its chart history is treated as if it occurred in the year that the record first hit its peak position, so it will not appear at all in the other year’s listing.